The Crane Girl

Review
By School Library Connection

The author has adapted several Japanese crane folktales to create a story of friendship, greed, and love. A young boy finds and releases a trapped crane, and it returns to him in the form of a girl. To repay the kindness shown to her, she offers to spin silk for the boy’s father to sell under the condition that she be left alone while she works. When the father gets impatient and breaks into her workroom one day, they discover her secret and she decides to leave. The boy follows her, and the girl and her family welcome him into their world. The language is straightforward and the illustrations add authenticity to the words, conveying the plot beautifully.